Started From the Bottom
by Mahone-chic-89
Summary: NHL Washington Capitals hockey. The Caps have long been a talented, young team with a lot of promise but they've always lacked the spark that it takes to make it through the playoffs...that is until...an young woman makes NHL history and breaks all the rules on AND off the ice
1. How It Began

This story is similar to one I wrote a long time ago about a girl who joined the NHL but with some twists, changes, and maybe a more mature-ish twist (since I'm older and experienced a bit more of life now lol). Definitely plenty of drama, romance, betrayal, loyalty, friendship, relationships, turmoil, happiness, etc. Here is the summary/intro! I'll work on this whenever I have free moments or days off work! :) Enjoy!

FYI this story is also told from Mike Green's POV

….

No one believed in us.

And very few even believed in me.

No one thought we'd ever amount to anything.

But they all thought wrong…

…

I woke up to the awful sound of my alarm screaming in my ear and the sun streaming in through the blinds of my rather large apartment near Washington, D.C. I chucked the annoying clock across the room and heard it make a rather satisfyingly loud bang against the wall. The wailing stopped but my head still pounded as I felt yet another headache coming on. I groaned as I rubbed my eyes, wishing to be anywhere but here and to be doing anything but going to practice that morning.

The truth of the matter was this…I was a defenseman on one of the most promising, talented hockey teams in the NHL….the same hockey team that had yet to win a Stanley Cup and who were currently sucking to put it nicely. Our fans were giving up on us and quite frankly we WE were giving up on us. Things were looking pretty down lately and practices had been a living hell. We got yelled at, skated harder than usual and with everyone's short tempers…usually ended up fighting with one another. In summary: we were an embarrassment.

To make matters worse there were threats of trades, contracts being terminated and even restructuring our coaching staff…AGAIN. Every day we went to work wondering if it would be the last time we stepped onto the rink…wondering if the next time we stepped onto an ice rink it'd be in Anaheim, Tampa Bay, New York, Philly, or god-forbid, Pittsburgh. It wasn't the best way to live and quite frankly many of us were ready to call it quits, leave and count our losses. Anything was better than this…this waiting game…constantly waiting for something to change. For someone to give us the spark that we needed….for something to happen that would change this team, these fans, and this city forever.

But we definitely never thought that spark would be…._her_….

….


	2. Need A Change

Nicole Bensen threw her hockey stick into the lockers as she stormed out of the locker room. Her teammates cringed and ducked out of her way as she bulldozed through them. The moment she stepped outside of the locker room the entire lobby of the small ice rink froze. Nicole grimaced at their silence and their averted gazes as she pushed her way through them. The last thing she needed was sympathy from fans. She was beyond angry, hurt, and betrayed and wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of this place.

Nicole winced as the harsh, bitter cold air whipped her hair around her face. She growled in annoyance as she stormed toward the old, beat up pick-up truck at the far end of the parking lot. She threw her bag in the back and climbed up into the truck and shoved the key into the ignition. She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the engine turnover and the old pick-up rumbled to life. Then…the tears came.

Nicole slammed the steering wheel with the palms of her hands as the tears flowed freely down her face. She couldn't even believe this was happening to her. Who the hell gets cut from a team because they're "too good?" What the hell does that even mean?!

"_Nicole it's nothing personal…it's just…." Stammered her coach as he tried to find the right word_s _to tell Nicole she was being cut from her team, "It's just…you're too talented and too intense for…for this level of hockey."_

"_Then put me on another level!" argued Nicole, her hazel eyes flashing in disbelief, "What's the next level up? Put me there but don't you dare tell me I can't play hockey!"_

_Her coach sighed and shook his head sadly, "Nicole the next level up is college hockey and you…you barely got your GED. You'd have to go to college if you really want to play."_

_Nicole sneered, "Please we both know that's never going to happen."_

_Nicole's coach frowned again as he put a hand on her shoulder, "It really is a shame…you have so much talent…something we haven't seen here before. But…you're scoring an average of eight goals a game and some of the other players are getting hurt when you check them into the boards. We have to let you go…I wish you the best…"_

_Nicole hadn't bothered to hear the rest of her coach's apology. She stormed off into the locker room, grabbed her gear, and ran out, never looking back…_

Nicole gritted her teeth and wiped the tears from her eyes as she put her truck in gear. It was time to go home…and figure out what in the world she was supposed to do now…

…

Hey, McPhee," said Adam Oates, the new coach of the Washington Capitals, as he walked into General Manager George McPhee's office, "You see this?"

McPhee lowered his glasses and glanced up at Oates, "What is it?"

"The DVD that guy dropped off yesterday…the one of that girl hockey player from Virginia Beach?"

McPhee sneered a bit at that , "You actually watched it?"

Oates raised an eyebrow at that, "Yeah and I think you should too…seriously. This girl…she's pretty unreal."

"Yeah anybody looks unreal when you play minor league hockey in a rink in a city that is barely even aware of what the sport of hockey is…she's also a girl."

"So?" said Oates, "After watching this I'd put her on at least the third line of our team right now. She's got serious skill, McPhee."

McPhee gave Oates a very confused look as he took off his glasses, "Are you being serious right now?"

"Dead serious," said Oates as he handed McPhee the DVD, "Seriously…watch this. I think we should call her up and let her try-out. Couldn't hurt to watch her skate with the rest of the team for a practice or two."

"Adam you do realize even if she is as good as you say she is she could never play in the NHL, right?" asked McPhee, still looking very confused.

"Why not?" argued Oates, "We've made gutsy decisions before…why not this one too? We could make NHL history with this girl!"

"We could also become the laughing stock of every single hockey league in the world," argued McPhee as he tossed the DVD down on his desk.

Oates frowned, "Alright I'm just saying…watch the DVD…can't hurt to take a look can it?"

McPhee narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Oates walk out of his office. What in the hell had gotten into his head coach? Suddenly McPhee found himself questioning whether or not he should have hired Oates in the first place.

He looked back down at the DVD sitting on his desk and studied it for a moment. Ah…what the hell. It was just a DVD. It wasn't like he was signing any paperwork or anything…and it's not like a DVD of some girl playing hockey was going to change anything anyway…

…

"This is gonna suck," muttered John Carlson as he leaned on the Capitals bench at the Kettler Iceplex, stretching out his sore muscles before the coaching staff took to the ice.

"Yeah no shit," I said as I joined him in stretching out our legs, "They're gonna skate us hard again today."

"Well maybe if you two gave a damn we wouldn't have to be doing this," growled Marcus Johansson, looking exceptionally peeved this morning.

"Shut the fuck up," snarled Carlson, "Why don't you go practice shooting pucks at an empty net because we all know you need all the help you can get with those!"

Johansson whirled around and tried to lunge at Carlson. I stepped in-between them and shoved Johansson away before anything got out of hand.

"What the hell is going on?" shouted Brooks Laich, my best friend, as he skated over to us.

"MoJo has a mouth on him this morning," I growled, "Almost started another fight with Carly."

"Yeah that's the last thing we need," said Brooks quite pointedly as he glared down at MoJo who was still struggling to get back up to his feet.

Just then the loud shrill of the whistle brought us all to attention. The games were about to begin.

"Let's go!" barked Oates as he skated out onto the ice, "I want to see some hustle today! Let's start with some suicides before we run drills…get those muscles warmed up and ready to go! Everyone on the far blue line now! Let's GO!"

I glanced around and saw all the long stares of my teammates and realized this was going to be yet another pointless practice where we all left feeling even more empty and hopeless than before. No one wanted to be here…that was obvious. We needed something to change…and soon. I wasn't sure how much longer we would be able to go on before we completely and totally fell apart…

…


End file.
